Dirigible



R. H. uPsoN Nov, 8, 1927,

mmf,

Nov. 8, 1927. 1,648,630

R. H. UPsoN DIRIGIBLE Filed March 29, 1922 4 Sheets-SheetI 3 gnou-wier.

Nov. 8,1927. 1,648,630

' R. H. UPSON DIRIGIBLE Filed Maroh 29, 1922 4 Sheets-SheeiI 4 Patented Nov. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DIRIGIBLE.

Application led March 29, 1922. Serial No. 547,598.

This invention' relates to airships which have been commonly termed dirigibles, and

involves lighter-than-air craft with means of propulsion. More particularly it relates in general, to the rigid and semi-rigid lighterthan-air craft, and among the obj ects are the production of such craft which will be safer with respect to fire, more durable under the variations of Weather conditions, and to produce a ship of maximum strength and stability with minimum of Weight and resistance.

Further objects, some of whichmay be used independently, involve features of internal construction assuring facility of production, assembly and operation, providing for the accommodation throughout the structure of proper electrical conditions, proper and adequate gas-holdin properties, and various other features an advantages as will hereinafter appear. trical qualities, certain embodiments of my invention give absolute assurance of complete electrical continuity for equalization of flu f electric potential with the advantages incident thereto.

While many or all of these features may be embodied in a single structure, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a. 1part hereof, a particular embodiment speci cally described with respect to the figures, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, with fragmentary vertical section.

Fig. 2 Yis a vertical cross-section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing certain modifications.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on enlarged scale showing -a typical construction of envelope at the top.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse section on a still larger scale, of one ofthe girders shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. l0 is a ragmentaiy view showing tiglljit joint on cable. vhe particular embodiment of my invention herein illustrated consists of an elongated cigar-shape envelope, with the particular internal tackle or cable arrangement telescoping diaphragm connection of. gaswith special arrangement of ballonet diaphragm, but with the longitudinal. girders at the outside -of the" hull connected one to the other b sheet metal. In general, the

inventions iereinafter described apply in' particular to what may be generally termed an all-metal dirigible, particular reference being to the metal envelope.

The envelope l1 is built-up with the keel or corridor girder 2 and a plurality of longitudinal girders 3 substantially from end-toend of the ship with sheet metal panels 4 intermediate the longitudinal girders. The panels 4 are secured to the girders by means of a seam 5 forming a gas-tight joint.

In this manner the panels, interconnected by the longitudinal girders, form the envelope for the gas-content throughout the upper portion of the ship, and the ballonet is formed longitudinally throughout the lower portion of the ship by the diaphragm 6 cooperating with the airtight metal envelope forming the lower portion of the ship. In order that the ballonet may expand or deate to provide increased internal pressure and the variations in the volume of the contained gas inthe upper and the major. f portion of the envelope, suitable air vents or of the ship the cables 8 pass through the 'I diaphragm and are attached to the keel girder 2, and the diaphragm carries slidingA gastight sleeves 9 which permit the diaphragm to move up and down without hindrance from the cables 8. As shown in Fig. 2 the `diaphragm is secured at seam 10 to the partition 11, which is one of several transverse partitions which may be embodied to divide V the gas space into a plurality of sections. As shown in Fig. 1, such partition is laterally bulging at 11, being formed so as to permit a limited deflection to accommodate the variation in pressure of adjacent gas sections.

The internal cables lf2- .12 run from the l'm inner edge of the girders 3 to the centre, and are connected to the axial or centre cable 13 of the ship. The outer eiid o'f the cables 12 may be sdb-divided into crowfoots lead.

ing with a plurality'of sub-cables to diii'erent points in each'longitudinal girder to distribute the strain. Strain cables 14s-14 may be run fromlongitudinal 'rders below the horizontal centre andV tie up with ca bles 1 5-15 to distribute' strains.

As'shown in Fig. 3, a radial cable :from

I girder 3a may be omittedat various transverse sectionsef the internal tackle, and be supplanted by al vertical cable 16 running to one of the upper longitudinal girders, such as 3", thus providing a'substantially vertical portion of thiscable at the point where l it passes through the ballonet diaphragm. At the point of passage of such a cable 16,

a similar gas-tight sleeve,such as provided at 9, serves a like purpose. This gas-tight sleeve may be as shown in Fig. 9, or a telesco ing sleeve as shown in" Fig. 10.

. he outer envelope involves the longitudinal girders '3 which preferably have an extended girder plate 16a with Vprojecting lips 16b o n either side. These lips, as shown in Fig. 5,' are bent to form a hook-edge into which the hook-edged of the envelope metal sheets engages, and with suitable packing or caulklng the joint or seam is then secured by rivets .to form the gas-tight connection between girder edges and etal. panel plates. The other side members 1?-17 of each girder converge inwardly and support a suitable anchor attachment 18 for ltheradial cables or crowfoots and subcables.

As shown in Fig. 6, the girder plate edge has a tough fabricv or leather strip 19 secured to it, with the other edge of this strip 19 attached to the edge ofthe metal panel plate at joint 20, thus providingbetween the inetal'panel strip and the girder amore flex ible connection, which' may be re-proofed in any suitable manner.

Esection Fi 1,v two vertical In the completed structure motor gondolas' t llare supported-by braces 2,5v 'to suitably distribute the strain'due to the propeller 26. The keel or corridorA girder 2 has `suitable gangways leading gine gondola's 27.- 27'. Fins28 providefor (horizontal rudders 29 and vertical rudders 30. Y While I have shown in the fragmentary ,artitions, in

"certain em odiments of myinvention the horizontal ballonet diaphragm 6 may' be continued `substantially Vfrom endto-end to crew or passenger en` without interruption. In the particular form of dirigible herein described, the structure more particularly contemplates longitudinal girders with continuousinterconnecting panel plates or sheets forming the -sole spacing members circumferentially be- .tween the girders. The sheet metal panels arel of extremely thin gauge, and -in order to provide the necessary lightness are made of metal of extremely high tensile strength, to serve the purpose of resisting circumferential strain due to 'internal gas pressure,

and as they comprise a continuous envelope they admirably accommodate and resist the sheering stresses. On account of their very light gauge they are flexible and therefore will bul e between their attaching seams to the girders, thus permitting a limited amount of play to accommodate'the internal 'gas pressure, but it will be understood that beyond certain limits of leewa'y internal ties or ribs may' be provided to prevent any bulging ordeformation beyond the safelimit. It will be noted in Fi 1 that the stili longitudinal ribs or girers have -a continuous longitudinal curvature, converging at each end;v and that the hull length is less than four times the maximum diameter, so t-hatthe curvature of the girders is appreciable at all'parts of their length. These with the internal Suspenders and the tension and sheer stress wires and cables, as shown, connecting some of the longitudinal ribs, and interconnectin to carry load strains to the corridor glrder, all combine to form a truss structure of ribs longitudr nally. o This, with the metal sheathing between the ribs, it will be seen from the drawings, provides for circumferential stresses, and all together provide for a com plete stift' hull. This in effect provides a rigid airship hull in `which the stresses due to sta-tic loads when inflated are carried in the skin of the ship itself-'and directly trans-- l mitted to the internal tie wires and suspender cables, and in which the longitudinally stiii' girdersare, as shown, embodied ldirectly as a permanent part of the skin of the ship. While the ballonet inlation serves to provide additional internal pressure to compensate for increased aerodynamic pressure from` Without.

The internal tackle it ,will be seen, is so arranged as to distribute the suspension loads, and for longitudinalv oblique strains additional 'cross cables, such as 31-31, may be provided, which, as shown, carry the strains from cable crossing points through the ballonet diaphragm at a point Where the saine requires no movement such as at the seam where the diaphragm is attached to a partition wall as there shown. When dimensions of the ship permit, no diagonal cables need be used'v the construction of metal envelope andf 'girders being. such as to pro` vide for the`accommodation of sheer stresses. It will be understood that the buoyancy strains and the strains due to aero-dynamic forces in flight, will be accommodated by the structure as heretofore described, but the strength of panels suitable therefor, would not in many cases provide the necessary support for the girder weight in the absence of internal gas pressure, and in order to facilitate assembly and to maintain a structural unity when assembling or in the absence of internal gas pressure, suitable interconnecting braces between girders may be provided, which while suitably supporting the structure under abnormal conditions will not interfere with the proper functioning to the great advantage of the combination of metal panel plates and other features of construction heretofore described.

I elaim- 1. In a dirigible, a complete metal gas enclosing envelope, a plurality of rigid meridian girders having appreciable curvature throughout their length, forming part of the metal envelope and having intermediate said girders thin metal plating, a substantially horizontal flexible diaphragm attached to said envelope alongeach side below the middle, a plurality of load cables passing through said diaphragm and interconnecting a bottom girder with the meridian girders on the upper half of the hull.

2. An airship comprising a v.plurality of girders extending from end-to-end along meridians of the hull with a convex curvature throughout each girder, thin sheet metal flexible plates extending circumferentially intermediate all of said girders throughout the upper half of the ship and substantially below the middle forming with said girders a contiguous longitudinally stilfened astight envelope and hull skin combined, exible horizontal ballonet diaphragm in the clower hullsection extending between meridian girders on each side, interior load lac-- ving, and interior suspension cables extendpta-llic plating and a transverse flexible dia? phragm forming a partition of a variable i segmental portion las a minor portion thereof at the bottom.

4.. A dirigible comprising a single envelo e of metal on the outside forming the skin of the hull and incorporating therein a plurality of rigid meridian girder structures from, end-to-,end disposed from below the middle on one side and spaced throughout the upper hull to below the middle on the opposite side, a fabric diaphragm on the inside thereof forming a flexible ballonet roof in the bottom portion of the hull.

5. A dirigible comprising plural meridian metal girders from end-to-end spaced by direct connected thinl metallic sheathing to form a contiguous single metallic gas envelope and hull skin combined, an accentuated girder' structure extending from end-to-end combined with the metallic sheathing and positioned in the lower half of the hull, internal lacing inter-connecting the'girders whereby the single metallic envelope serves to carry tangential and sheer stresses due to static loads and aerodynamic pressure.

6. A dirigible comprising a metal envelope, a plurality of members providing longitudinal rigidity forming longitudinal glrders incorporated in or forming a part of the metallic envelope extending from end-toend and spaced circumferentially throughout theupper half and part way down the sides, and envelope connections between said members to provide circumferential yielding vto a natural curvature dependent upon the relation between internal and external pressure.

7. A rigid airship comprising an outside metal sheathing hull skin constituting also the sole gas-retaining envelope throughout the upper half and part way down the sides below the horizontal meridians, a plurality of stiff longitudinal meridian members convex throughout their length with the intervening metal sheathing forming a shearresisting non-deformable hull, a flexible generally horizontal diaphragm extending from side-to-side ofthe non-deformable hull at or below the middle andan airtight space below said daiphragm-whereby air pressure may be provided underneath the diaphragm to increase the gas pressure on the inside of the non-deformable envelope, and excess gas pressure is accommodated by a yielding of the diaphragm to permit the desired pressure on the inside of the envelope with respect to the aerodynamic or aerostatic pressure on the outside surface of the metal envelope without resisting all of said excess strains solely by the hull structure.

8. In a rigid airship, a thin metallic invelope susceptible to flexing between still' lope between the diaphragm and the non-v deformable upper hull section and an airtight space below the diaphragm, whereby liftv section of the hull is relieved of excess aerostatic strains by the yielding 'of the diaphragm and whereby excess aerodynamic strains onthe non-deformable hull may be resisted by. increased air pressure below the diaphragm. v

' 9. A rigid airship comprising metal sheathing constituting'in one the hull skin and buoyant gas-confining envelope, a plurality of stiff longitudinal members having curvature throughout their length combined with the surface of the metal sheathing on substantially meridian lines providing a substantially nondeformable hull permitting only slight `flexing of the metal sheathing between. the stifl:z members while carrying the shear and tangential stresses of the hull by the envelope, gas-tight joints associated with the unionof' the flexible plating with the stifi'ening members, and a flexible diaphragm having gas-ti ht connections on each side of the hull longitudinally of the ship, separating a sub-air space from'the superposed gas space whereby variations of pressure will prevent excess strains in the nondeformable hull structure by suitable yielding of the diaphragm. 10. A dirigible comprising a complete metallic envelope on the outside, a' substantially .A horizontal diaphragm below the middle and attached on a longitudinal line along the inside of the metal envelope, substantially radial metal cables extending from the metal envelope above the diaphragm to a common point about the approximate longitudinal axis of the dirigible, substantially vertical cables extending upward from the -bottom portion of the metal envelope through the dia-l -phragm and a gas-tight joint at the point ofpenetration of each cable with the diaphragm. 11. A rigid airship comprising a substanitially complete metal sheathing hull consti' tuting theI sole 4buoyant gas-retaining envelope and hull skin combined, consisting principally of thin metal panels with a plurality of rigid longitudinal members spa-ced on meridian lines generally equi-distant over the upper portion of the hull and down both `sides below the middle withv convex curvature throughout their length, air-tight seams between said light metal panels and at junc tions of the panels with rigid longitudinal members, a flexible generally horizontal dia-' phragm longitudinal of the ship adapted to yield to the varying gas pressure above, an air space below the diaphragm whereby upward pressure thereon maybe controlled, and

an exaggerated girder united with the lower hull portion at or belowthe gas-tight lateral seams of the flexible diaphragm.

12. A rigid airship comprisin a rigid girder in the bottom portion, a plura ity of longitudinal rigid grders substantially uniformly separated extending on meridian lines along girders and jointly therewith forming said -end-te-end and spaced .circumferent y the skin at or below the middle, a plurality of vertical flexible as artitions extending from said horizonta diaphragm to the-skin of the ship above, whereby surging of the buoyant gas is prevented by the partitions, and excess gas pressures are accommodated by the substantially horizontal diaphragm.

13. A dirigible comprising a substantially complete metal envelope serving as gas retainer and outside skin and having its buoy ant gas contact area formed of flexible thin L metal sheathin a series of stiff girder members united with the sheathing 'providing therewith a shear stress-resisting hull skin, lap-joints connectin the edgesof adjacent panels of the sheathing and panels' with stiff girder members adapted tocarry the hull stresses and gas-tight tape covering the seam and hermetically connected and secured to the adjacent panel surfaces.

14. In an airship a gas confining non-deformable envelope and ship-skin in one, formed of thinv metallic sheathing, hull strain-resisting seams rigidly interconnecting the adjacent edges of the metallic panels or plates and gas-tight tapecemented over, said seams.

15. In an airship, a longitudinal triangular girder having a relatively wide cord plate substantially in the plane 'of the dirigible envelope, projecting lateral edges on said girder and means on said projection for attachment of adjacent metal panelfplates.

16. -In an airship, a nondeformable outside h ull skin and gasfcontaining envelope, a plurality of longitudinalgirders extending from endto-end of the hull having one chord face lying substantially in the plane of the innersurface of the skin of the hull rojecting inwardly therefrom into the uoyant ga's space. and' incorporated -therewith, metal sheathing' interconnecting said sole gas-tight envelope and hull skin combined. Y v s 17. In an airship, a plurality 'of triangular meridian girders extending from end-to# end of the ship and spaced circumferentially, `one chord of each triangular girder being incorporated ,with a metallic hull shell to form a contiguous metalsheathing `and gas envelope substantially as described. 18. In an airship, a metallic hull ,skin and gas envelope. combined, comprising a pri'- mary large corridor truss in the lower half of the hull, a plurality of triangular ection longitudinal girders extending f m 130 vin throughout the top and sides ofthe hull, thin metallic sheathing incorporated with the outer chords of said triangular girders and forming therewith the gas-.tight enve'- lope and interconnecting sheer resisting lacg. 19. In av dirigible,4 a substantially com- 'plete metal` envelope, a plurality of thin sheet metal panels forming the main part of said envelope, a plurality of rigid continuously curved longitudinal ribs extending from end-to-end and frequently spaced throughout the upper half and part way l .doWn the .sides of the hull and seamsbetween the adjacent metal members of the envelope forming gas-tight means for permaenvelope ribs, a ballonet along the bottom of said envelope, a flexible diaphragm forming the ceiling of said ballonetand gas-tight 25 'sliding joints at the points that the interior lacing penetrates said diaphragm. 4 l

.21.'In a dirigible, a plurality of stili lonlof the hull, rigidly interconnected by thin sheet metal plates forming a continuous gas envelopeand hull skin, a substantially axial tie member extending from end-to-end of the ship.

22. In an airship, a plurality of stili longitudinal members ciroumferentially.spaced coincident with 4the shell of the vhull and having appreciable curvature throughout their length, an axial time member extending from end-to-end of said longitudinal girders and thin metallic sheathing permanently incorporatedl with said longitudinal members and forming therewith a continuous metallic hull sheathing and gas envelope in one.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my Vname to) this application this 28th day of March, 1.922.

RALPH H. uPSoN. 

